My Beginners Nootropics Supplement Stack

December 7, 2016, 10:51 am

I’ve been testing my body and mind with a number of supplements, fitness routines, foods/drinks and mental exercises and I’ve created this list of all the things that have helped me gain a massive edge on my performance.

This is mainly to help me keep track of my results but it can also be used to help beginners and people looking for a safe way to start nootropics and biohacking of the mind and body.

Warning: I’ll do my best to tell you how I take everything, where I get it from and all the safety information, but be sure to always do two things:

Cross check everything I say, to be double sure it’s for you.

Start slowly, take one thing at a time and start building a stack that works best for you.

Lions Mane Instant Coffee

This is where my journey began and it’s where I think all nootropic stacks should start.

Lion’s mane instant coffee is one of the greatest pick-me-up nootropics on this list, I personally use it 3 times per week (half a sachet) to help on heavy lifting work day.

I don’t use this daily or while I’m not working/training as it would be a certain waste of this awesome drink.

What does it help me with?

I usually drink this first thing on a Monday morning, I then sit down for what is usually 5 hours and blast out crazy amounts of work. It helps with my concentration, focus, and alertness and once it starts wearing off (2 hour mark) I then sip Yerba Mate tea for the following few hours and with all honesty I get more done in this 5 hours in terms of creativity, writing and learning than I used to get done in two whole days.

Price Tag?

The price tag seems high at 10 sachets for $10, but as I (and most likely you) only use half a sachet for each cup and drink 3 times per week (at max), so one box usually lasts around 8 weeks (almost two months) which is amazing value.

I drink this Yerba Mate tea in a gourd (the Gourd I use is here), all you do is fill it up with your Yerba Mate loose leaves to the top of the gourd, you then pour hot water in, I then take sips with the straw and once I’ve completed I refill with hot water and rinse and repeat until my writing is done.

In my experience one cup can be re-used for a few hours of drinking, plus grab a good stainless steel teapot so you don’t have to worry about boiling the kettle for a re-fill.

Price Tag?

The gourd usually costs $20 and the tea is as cheap as chips, I get mine for $10 per kilo, I also use this to keep the buzz of the Lions Mane coffee, just drink the coffee then a few hours later start sipping away on some Yerba Mate.

Coffee The Best Nootropic?

Coffee is one of the safest and greatest nootropics there is.

Best Coffee For Nootropic Effect?

It doesn’t really matter what brand you get, I’ll be honest. I’ve seen lots of people spend small fortunes on types of coffee that claim to do X Y and Z, only to have hardly any results, and the whole Mycotoxins and mold coffee issue has been debunked and provento be fear selling, not saying that there aren’t mycotoxins, but the amount is always well below the health guidelines.

So far in my experience I’ve seen that the only thing that matters is this:

Get some good quality light roasted coffee beans (I used a Colombian blend), instant coffee beans give me a much lower buzz (almost unnoticeable) and the darker the coffee means the longer it was roasted which longer roasting equals more caffeine burnt off.

I usually have one – two cups per day and avoid it completely when using Lions Mane to avoid me climbing up walls.

Benefits Of Coffee As A Nootropic

I’ve found it really improves my focus, helps me get jobs done and highers my alertness, It’s also helped my body become leaner and works as a great pre-workout when mixed with L-theanine.

We’ve had a lot of basic nootropics on this list and so far all the ones I’ve previously mentioned can be taken without any noticeable side effects for most people, the same goes for the next one…

Green Tea

I’ve been to china and explored some amazing green tea farms, also bought some incredible fresh Chinese green tea.

In my opinion, Green tea is a highly disregarded nootropic as it’s safe, easy to make, cheap and comes with an array of health benefits, including a nice pick me up.

The Key To Making High Powered Nootropic Green Tea

Get a nice Sancha green tea (Green TeaI use), then boil some water and leave it to sit for 3 minutes off the heat, then add water enough to cover the loose leafs or the matcha powder, then pour in the water and voila the perfect tea.

PS: The cold water is key to stop the heat damaging the leaves, which in-turn gives you less caffeine.

What I Use Green Tea For?

I’ve not found it gives me a crazy creative boost but it does wake me up and help me stay focused, so I mainly use it an hour or so after my first coffee as a way to get a second wave of work complete, in fact, I’m sipping on a green tea blend as we speak.

Spice Shoots

Not a nootropic, but something I highly recommend you add to your daily stack of health is one turmeric spice shot.

It’s simple, get half a lemon, juice it into a glass, then sprinkle some Turmeric (1 – 2 grams) into the shot glass, along with some ginger powder (you can use ginger/turmeric root), stir it all together and chug!

That my friend is something that grounds me every morning and makes me feel alive, I also add garlic powder when I’m really brave.

Creatine + Ubiquinol

I use the creatine to train as my workouts are calisthenics (body weight) based and take a lot of energy and when you mix this wonder supplement with Ubiquinol you get a really great anti Alzheimer’s stack, this helps improve my memory and ability to retain knowledge.

This is perfect for anyone who like me who has Alzheimer’s in their family and wants to prevent it, who loves to do explosive workouts and wants more energy and anyone who wants to have an awesome memory boost.

Plus, this is the best place for beginners to start on the nootropic journey (excluding the teas, coffees, and things I previously talked about).

Really Important Tip

Make sure you drink massive amounts of water while taking creatine, do this by getting a big bottle and always having it with you.

Caffeine + L-theanine

I pop some L-Theanine in my morning coffee that I mentioned above and the effects are extremely noticeable.

What happens?

I get much less excitable, more focused and can really get stuck into work I’d otherwise try to avoid or want to sleep through, it really allows me to dig deep, stay focused and feel as if I own the world.

Sounds bizarre I know, but as a basic nootropic goes this is one of the best.

I’d also recommend it as an amazing pre-workout drink as it really gets me going, but I’d prefer to keep using it for work as I find that’s where nootropics really give me the edge.

How I take L-Theanine and Caffeine

Now as I’m going to show you in a second I’ve got a truly awesome supplement stack coming from a company called NaturalStacks and it has caffeine with L-Theanine in capsules that I can’t wait to try, but as for now this is how I take this:

I take around 100 – 200 mg of L-Theanine per day and as it’s an amino acid analog you can really test what works for you as your body easily tolerates high doses and from what I’ve seen my body builds no tolerance to this so every morning it has the same effect.

I usually pop it in my coffee and do at a ratio of 1 part caffeine 2 parts L-Theanine, I’ll do an exact guide soon, but I think that explained it well enough and if not you can always get the pre-measured pills I talked about.

Ultimate Mind Supplement Stack (All In One)

I’ve recently purchased a mental performance stack by a company named Natural Stacks and I can’t wait to run a case study on their nootropic mind enhancing supplements.

Why Am I Buying It?

I’ve recently purchased a mental performance stack by a company named Natural Stacks and I can’t wait to run a case study on their nootropic mind enhancing supplements.

Why Am I Buying It?

I’ve always been in love with the idea of companies like Onnit and Bulletproof, but the prices are crazy, especially for someone who lives in Spain like myself, no joke once I’ve dealt with customs and getting it shipped to my address in England, then over to Spain I’m talking $100 for a 30 day supply of Alpha Brain (Gulp), plus, alpha brain is one of many nootropics needed to enhance the brain to maximum level.

That’s why I’ve been hunting for a company that’s a decent price, has worldwide shipping and offers a great memory/creativity enhancing stack with results, so far I’ve found Nootrobox, Nootropics.com and Natural Stacks and they all seem awesome so I’ve started testing them out and will be running a case study for each stack over 6 week period.

Right now I’m testing the natural stack as they’ve got what I see as the best nootropics at the best price, I’m currently speaking with them and they’re working out the best doses, times to take, etc and I’ll be posting all the results on this blog.

Another reason I love their stack is it offers something different, a lot of the other nootropics stacks are things that I own already, L-theanine, Citicoline, Caffeine, etc, whereas Natural stack offers:

CILTEP: Something I’ve heard a lot of bloggers talk about and recommend for focus, motivation and overall brain function.

Dopamine Brain Food: This seems really interesting it has inside the amino acids and vitamins that produce dopamine, something that I’ve been really interested in since I started a dopamine/serotonin boosting diet.

Magnesium Complex: This is meant to aid brain function and help with sleep.

Smart Caffeine: This is caffeine + L-Theanine pre-mixed at the ideal dose, now I’m itching to try one because I travel a lot and it can be really hard to mix up a caffeine and L-theanine while in Asia, plus getting L-Theanine on the plane in the first place is hard as it’s a fine white powder that even when I get out in front of my family they give me a strange look.

I’ll be continuing all of the nootropics above excluding the Caffeine + L-Theanine while doing this case study, but I’ll be slowly introducing each substance to see if there are any negative effects, I’ll post back here so feel free to ask questions and even though I’d like to wait before I promote it to you to try you’re more than welcome to give this a shot with me so we can exchange results (email me and we’ll have a Skype).

What My Exact Current Supplement Stack Is

Here’s what I’m currently taking with great results and almost no side effects as long as I don’t over drink coffee:

Lions Mane Coffee (1 – 3 times per week).

Yerba Mate tea (5 days per week while doing writing)

Fresh, lightly roasted coffee (every morning before work starts)

Green tea (1 – 2 times per day)

Creatine + Ubiquinol (everyday)

Caffeine + L-Theanine (When I need to be focused and get the job done)

What do I recommend Beginners Take:

I’d start with theLions Mane Coffee, give it a try it’s amazing and if you’re into creative tasks definitely grab some Yerba, then I’d add the Caffeine + L-Theanine in and once you’re set you can add some green tea and the creatine + Ubiquinol if you train or want extra memory gains.

Mind Hacks To Add To Your Stack For Ultimate Results

I’m obsessed with becoming the best version of myself and here are the things that have completely changed my game and my life.

Meditation

I meditate 40 minutes every day, but as little as 5 minutes of dedicated meditation can change the way you connect with other humans, for me that was in the form of no longer fearing strangers, silence in conversations and having that burning anxiety.

This helped me concern some of my biggest fears as an introvert.

Just like there was an Oli before smart drugs and an Oli after smart drugs, there’s the Oli I was before meditation, anxiety filled, scared, nervous, and the Oli I am now, I love people, love connecting and most of all I love being myself and have a kick-ass time with anyone I’m with.

If you’re filled with anxiety, get Sunday sadness, feel like you can’t connect with anyone just try meditating 5 minutes every day and see where it takes your mind.

Martial Arts (Boxing)

I’ve played around with MMA and boxing for a few years and I’ve recently just got back into it starting with home training using this MMA workout:

Just doing this 2 times per week along with my calisthenics has boosted my testosterone through the roof, I’ve seen a big increase in my strength, my dedication, and my overall confidence, it gives me back that competitive feeling that goes so well in the world of business.

Yoga

I don’t claim to be a full-time yogi or even a part-time, sadly traveling has made me forget this beautiful passion, but a few months ago I’d do yoga twice per day every day, this is overkill, but if you have trouble sleeping just try this tonight.

Breathing

There’s an array of breathing exercises that I perform during different times of my life, from ones that help me sleep, to ones that help with anxiety and confidence, I’ll be doing a full article on this soon but I’ll leave you with two awesome breathing techniques:

Breath of fire:

Night-time Sleep Breathing

Slowly breath into the count of five, hold for 1 – 3 seconds and then breath out to the count of five, hold for 1 – 3 seconds and repeat 5 x while trying to get to sleep.

Keeping Track Of Everything

What is measured is managed and all of the smart drugs, supplements, and drinks I mentioned gave me noticeable effects, now there are a few ways we can measure this (all of which I’ll talk about in an upcoming article), but here are my main ways:

Basic Online Brain Test

This is pretty basic stuff, I just use NeuroNation and every day for a week I do the games it gives me, I then start taking my nootropics and I measure my score, this can be a BAD way to test as the more you do the tests the better you become naturally, but I’ve seen big enough jumps in memory and performance while using nootropics that it sorta makes it measurable.

Self Awareness (best method)

You know how you feel, and by simply being aware you can monitor how you perform while taking different substances.

Keep Notes (Must Do)

Every day I write down my results, what work I did, what nootropics I took, how I felt, even how many hours sleep I had,

I then look back every month and see the work load, see my writing quality, see the best and worst days and after a few months, you can really see patterns of good work vs bad work and what you did differently.

Egg Devices

I’m yet to try and EGG device as the nootropics I take make a very noticeable effect and it just seems a little unnecessary.

Ending Note

The most important bit of advice I could give any biohacker is to not rely on any supplement, smart drug or method for results, all these things will help you, but I often find myself falling into the trap of “I’ve run out of Lions Mane, I guess today’s going to be a bad day” or “I didn’t eat 100% clean today that’s why I was sad” and this blame game is never ending and does the mind no good, what I do is this:

Do what I can to make each day awesome, strive to be the best version of myself, but always remember that it’s not the end of the world if I have some pasta or a little bread, maybe a glass of red wine here and there.

Keep testing, keep trying your best and most importantly keep having FUN!!!

If you’d like me to talk about or try any nootropic leave a comment below or message me, I’m always looking to help fellow biohackers out, the only things I won’t take are prescription based nootropics like Adderall, Ritalin, etc, those have too many long term issues, I like a sustainable stack that I can keep using for years to come with good health benefits, not bad ones.

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